Page 3 Profile: Mario Sepulveda, Chilean miner

Mario Sepulveda, Chilean miner (AFP/Getty)

An unlikely friendship…

Actor Antonio Banderas with Mario Sepulveda, one of the 33 Chilean miners to be trapped underground in a mine in Chile for 69 days in 2010. A film of the ordeal is in the works and Mr Banderas stars as Mr Sepulveda.

All’s well that ends well for Mr Sepulveda?

Four years on the 44-year-old father of three has said life above ground has been “hell”. He and his fellow miners feel abandoned and exploited.

What’s his take on the £40m project The 33 then?

“[Antonio] told me he understood what I’d been through, that he was a simple actor from Spain and, when he got famous, he was overwhelmed too.I said, ‘Yes, but Antonio you have millions of dollars in the bank. I have fame but no money’.’”

Wow, he’s really having a tough time of it…

He is now preparing to return to work as a miner to make ends meet, despite his trauma.

So he’s lost all faith in human nature?

Not quite. “Those days when we were alone showed me the best in humanity,” he said.